Battle of Novi

The Battle of Novi (15 August 1799) was a major battle of the War of the Second Coalition that occurred when the Austro-Russian army of Alexander Suvorov and Michael von Melas defeated Barthelemy Catherine Joubert and Jean Victor Marie Moreau's French army in Piedmont, leading to southern France being threatened by the Allies.

In 1799, Russian and Austrian troops swept across the Po River Valley, retaking lands lost to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796. After defeats at Magnano, Cassano, and Trebbia, the French forces retreated into Genoa and the Ligurian Republic. The new French government placed Barthelemy Catherine Joubert in command of the Armee d'Italie, and it ordered him to take the offensive. The French assembled on the high ground above Novi Ligure, where they were attacked by Paul Kray's Austrian corps. After a delay, Suvorov committed a Russian corps to attack the French center as Michael von Melas' corps attacked the French right flank. Kray's troops suffered heavy losses, but the French were badly beaten by nightfall and the French hold on the Italian Riviera was gravely weakened. The French also lost Joubert, who was shot through the heart at the start of the battle. However, the Allies made a fatal mistake when they decided to advance north through Switzerland instead of pressing their advantage in the Riviera region.